Dos and Don'ts
by Sonic Jules
Summary: Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble ..... Just what did Donna pick up during her shopping spree on New, New, New Earth? The Doctor is determined to find out!
1. Her Little Secret

**Dos and Don'ts**

**By Sonic Jules**

**.**

**Disclaimer:** Doctor Who and the characters of said show do not belong to me, no matter how hard I've wished for it. No infringement meant on the owners and associates, nor BBC.

**.**

**A/N:** My many thanks to Catharticone, who checked and helped and worded things better, as she always does. If you like this story, it's really because of her.

**.**

**Chapter One:**

**Her Little Secret**

**.**

Donna entered the TARDIS with a flourish, surrounded by the many bags of items she'd bought with the credit stick the Doctor had given her. She practically waddled up the ramp as she carried the overstuffed containers, smiling excitedly when she saw the Time Lord peeking around the time rotor.

"I brought lunch!" she said cheerfully as she deposited all but one of the bags on the floor beside the jump seat.

"And a little of everything else, too, I'd say," the Doctor commented, eyeing her numerous purchases. "Is there anything left for the Earth to sell?"

"Oi, don't you start. You're the one who said I should go shoppin'. Wanted me out of your hair, you did. And besides, there's so many things to see on New, New, New Earth - really, how could you expect me to resist?"

The Time Lord grinned at his companion. "I couldn't, could I?" he replied with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"How's the maintenance comin', by the way?" she asked, pulling out a few items from the bag she held.

"Fine, fine. Almost done," he answered a bit distractedly. "What's that smell?"

Donna grinned proudly, holding a container out toward him. "I'm not quite sure. It looks like chicken, and there's lots of healthy lookin' vegetables in the mix, plus everyone in the restaurant was eatin' it. I figured it couldn't be too bad."

The Doctor nodded, grabbing up the majority of her purchases while Donna put the dish back in the bag she was holding then picked up the remaining sacks. They walked down the corridor toward the kitchen, only stopping long enough to put the new merchandise in her room on the way.

**O**o**O**

The Doctor and Donna sat across from each other as they dipped their forks into the food on their plates. Both nibbled the takeout tentatively at first, then dug in with gusto. Their meal was obviously quite tasty.

When they were done, the Time Lord spoke. "So, what all did you buy while you were shopping?" he asked, eyeing her a bit suspiciously.

"Some clothes, some shoes, and - you know - stuff."

"_Stuff_?"

Donna wiped her mouth with a napkin before standing. "Yeah, _stuff_." She grabbed up her plate and his. "Feminine ... Stuff."

"Oh," he answered slowly. "Oh!" he repeated, looking at her as he stood, a slight flush to his cheeks. "Well, I suppose I should finish up," he exclaimed, pointing toward the corridor. "Thanks for lunch," he said as he disappeared.

Donna stood there for a moment before turning toward the sink, grinning. It seemed that all male species got a bit befuddled when it came to feminine products. Not that she'd purchased any, but mentioning them did stop him from asking anything further. Besides, she'd rather not mention what else she'd bought. No one needed to know all her secrets after all, including that scrawny Lord of Time.

**O**o**O**

It had been two hours since the Doctor had seen Donna, one of which he had nothing to do, having completed the repairs and 'tune up' he performed on his ship. Now he was bored.

It was a bit early for dinner just yet, but if he took them someplace fun, like Fresiendeo, where there was so much to see and do, then dinner there would fit perfectly into their schedule.

Decision made, he bounded down the corridor in search of his mate.

The Doctor knocked on her bedroom door then waited impatiently for a few moments before knocking again. When his second try received no results, he knocked again, much harder.

"Donna?"

The Time Lord opened the door carefully. He was quite sure she wasn't asleep; Donna had been too wound up over her purchases to be tired, and he was sure she'd slept well the night before. Regardless, he called her name a bit softer as his eyes swept the room, just in case.

Not seeing his companion as he looked around, the Doctor turned to walk back into the corridor when he heard a muffled sob coming from behind the bathroom door. Quickly he walked toward it.

"Donna?"

He heard her sniffle. "Yeah?" she asked a bit timidly.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she answered. Her voice was soft and so very unlike her normal self.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Can you say anything but 'yeah'?

"Of course I can, you nitwit! I'm not some daft little child who can't form sentences or speak her mind - I was simply answerin' your questions - politely too, I might add," Donna replied, her voice strong and defensive. "What d'you want? And what are you doin' anyway, standin' outside my bathroom door?"

The Doctor grinned slightly. Now _there_ was the Donna Noble he knew. "I thought you might enjoy a trip to Fresiendeo. I need to take the TARDIS out and make sure she's running up to par, and it's beautiful there. Plenty to do - sort of like an amusement park - and I thought we'd have dinner while we were there in a bit. What do you say?"

"No, thanks."

"Donna?"

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothin's wrong, Doctor. I'm ... In. The. Loo." She sighed. "Do you _mind_?"

"Oh, not at all. I'll just sit out here and wait until you're done," he replied cheekily.

"No!" she yelled clearly.

"Then _tell_ me what's wrong," he replied calmly. "Does it have something to do with your purchases today?"

"Yes - no! No, nothin's wrong, except for the fact that you're just standin' there, outside my bathroom door like some sort of stalker. Smacks of perversion to me, it does."

The Doctor was not so easily deflected. "I'll leave you alone once I know you're all right. Until then, I can wait out here far longer than you'll want to stay in there, trust me."

He couldn't see the roll of her eyes, but he was quite sure she did it, just the same.

"I'd like a bit of privacy. Is that too much to ask for?" she spoke with a friendly tone, causing his eyebrows to quirk.

"Donna," the Time Lord began, sounding like his patience was waning. "Either you're coming out, or I'm coming in."

"No! Now run along and leave me the hell alone!"

The Doctor knew she was hiding something from him. He worried if he didn't get to her quickly, well, traveling through time and space, there were too many horrible possibilities he _didn't_ want to think of.

He was going in. With or without her consent.

"Back away from the door, Donna. I'm coming in."

**O**o**O**

**_To be concluded..._**

**O**o**O**


	2. Really?

**Dos and Don'ts**

**By Sonic Jules**

**.**

**_Previously in chapter one.... _**

_The Doctor was not so easily deflected. "I'll leave you alone once I know you're all right. Until then, I can wait out here far longer than you'll want to stay in there, trust me."_

_He couldn't see the roll of her eyes, but he was quite sure she did it, just the same._

_"I'd like a bit of privacy. Is that too much to ask for?" she spoke with a friendly tone, causing his eyebrows to quirk._

_"Donna," the Time Lord began, sounding like his patience was waning. "Either you're coming out, or I'm coming in."_

_"No! Now run along and leave me the hell alone!"_

_The Doctor knew she was hiding something from him. He worried if he didn't get to her quickly, well, traveling through time and space, there were too many horrible possibilities he didn't want to think of._

_He was going in. With or without her consent._

_"Back away from the door, Donna. I'm coming in."_

**.**

**Chapter Two:**

**Really?**

**.**

"_Excuse me?_" Donna nearly screeched. "You can't just come bargin' in here! Besides, there's nothin' goin' on that you need to worry about."

The Doctor shook his head. "Something _is_ going on, Donna, and there's no sense in your trying to deny it. I'm coming in." He placed his hand on the door knob.

"No!"

"No? _No?_ You do realize this is _my_ ship, don't you?" the Doctor said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I don't care. Just leave me alone, will you?" Again, he heard Donna sigh. "_Please_, Doctor."

"Are you feeling ill?"

"No. I feel fine, actually."

"Were you feeling sick earlier?"

"No. Now will you just ... go?"

He thought about her request for all of five seconds. "Absolutely not."

The Time Lord pulled the chair from the corner of her room then placed it four feet from the bathroom door. Promptly he sat down, making himself comfortable.

"Doctor?" Donna sniffled.

"Yep. Right here. Not going anywhere," he replied cheekily. What he didn't expect was the choked sob he heard from the other side of the door. Once again, he was standing practically beneath the wooden frame of the barrier, having leapt from the chair at the sound of her distress.

"I'm coming in," the Time Lord began, retrieving the sonic screwdriver from his pocket as he spoke. "You can either let me in or I'll let myself in, but I _will_ be seeing you, Donna Noble," he said gruffly, his concern rising.

"Bloody hell," Donna whispered. The Doctor then heard the door lock click as it was disengaged.

He opened the door and entered the small room quickly, unsure of what he'd find. He believed Donna to be hurt. He had heard her misery enough to have visions of his companion bloodied and bruised, his brilliant mind working through many a horrifying scenario of the countless accidents one could have just in the small space of a bathroom, what with all that hard porcelain and the harsh corners.

When his eyes focused on her, however, his jaw went slack with astonishment, utterly shocked and completely unable to form a word as his mouth opened and closed, clearly stupefied.

Donna's hair was a bright orange. Really, really blindingly bright. And it had turned a bit dry, judging from the frizz that gave her that 'just teased' look. When the Doctor continued to just stand there, staring at her locks with a look that could only be described as disbelief, Donna slapped his arm, hard.

The Time Lord cleared his throat. "Um, yes. Sorry," he said, his tone somewhat embarrassed. Finally he looked her in the eyes. "Donna? What did you do?"

"What the hell kind of question is that? I colored my hair, you stupid Martian! Anyone could tell that! And here you're always tellin' me how smart you are," she spoke venomously.

The Doctor's mouth snapped closed as his expression changed from shock to indignation. "Well I wasn't asking about the obvious, obviously," he replied tartly. "What I meant was -"

"I know what you meant," she interrupted him, her tone suddenly softer with a hint of apology. "I decided to buy this hair color, see. The lady in the shop was tellin' me how the stuff lasts at least six months - just spreads itself into the roots and dyes the new hair as it grows out. I thought it'd be bloody fabulous! I had no idea it'd turn me into Raggedy Ann!"

The Time Lord pursed his lips, stopping himself from telling Donna that the doll's thick, yarn hair would look ten times better than hers. Instead he decided to explain why the hair dye didn't work on her.

"There are many chemical differences in species from your time and those from New, New, New Earth. The evolution of the human female alone - well, let's not get into that right now. Point is, it's no wonder your hair turned out the way it did. In fact, you're lucky it didn't all fall out - which it still could, by the way - and you're very lucky that nothing worse happened."

"You call this _'lucky'_?"

"Well, yes. At least I'm not treating you for third degree burns right now."

"Oi! Well what you could be doin' is fixin' this for me instead of flappin' that jaw of yours. Come on then, show me a bit of that genius you claim to have and make this right," she said as she grabbed his hand. She pulled him from the bathroom before he had a chance to speak. When they were close to entering the corridor, however, he stopped her.

"Donna, I _can't_ fix this."

She stared at him a few seconds. "What? Of course you can. You're the _Doctor_. You fix ... things. You fix planets and people and engines and well, everything! So how hard could it be for you to fix a little hair?"

"I'm no stylist, and it's not that simple. I can't do it." He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "But I think I know who can. Come on!"

**O**o**O**

Relaxing side by side in separate chaise lounges near a pool of sparkling pink water, the Time Lord smiled when he looked over at his traveling companion, glad to see her smiling back at him.

"Now this's more like it!" Donna exclaimed happily, the light breeze blowing her silky, auburn tresses until they framed her face. "Travelin' to this fancy spa, getting my hair redone, _and_ a massage and pedicure to boot. Sure beats getting chased by aliens with four arms and twelve eyes any day, I'd say."

"Yes, well," the Doctor began, "hopefully you've learned a very valuable lesson from all this."

"Always get your hair colored by professionals?" She smirked.

"Well, there's that. But the real lesson here is never plan on dyeing without telling me first," he replied cheekily.

"What?" she asked incredulously, then a smile of comprehension formed on her face. "Oi!"

They both laughed at his pun, right after Donna threw the little umbrella from her drink at him.

**.**

**OoO**

**_The End._**

**OoO**


End file.
